Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Livin' For This

Most people come "out here" (ugh, hate that phrase, would like to pound people in the head every time they say that...) for "the weather," which seems to be the sole reedeeming quality of Los Angeles according to them generalizing-loving transplantia. Of course you all knew that already. The Militant, who never chose to come "out here," simply accepted his fate in terms of his geographical placement and makes the most of it. Ergo, he takes this weather thing totally for granted.

Though Summer symbolically ended a month ago, and officially a week and a half ago, the Militant longs to keep this Summer thing going as long as possible. In SoCal, it's not too uncommon to have a heatwave just a few days before Christmas. And besides, we won't have to change our clocks for another four weeks.

Yes, he lives for these warm, kind of humid nights. Nice and warm, but without the sun beating on one's skin in an oppressive manner. Nice enough to take a nocturnal bike ride, nice enough to hang out on the porch or a sidewalk cafe and have a chat, nice enough to take a stroll on the streets to take it all in. Ahhhh.

The very place he was in on Tuesday night, people did just that, riding their bikes on second street, hanging out amongst the closed storefronts of Little Tokyo plaza, chillin' out in the front patio of I <3 Boba on 1st Street. The warmth envelops you, but does not beat down on you like when the sun is out. It's like an invisible blanket, keeping you secure from the typical cold of night.

The Militant walked these same streets last Friday night, still warm yet not as warm, catching one of the last Red Line trains back to his compound after attending a Presidential Debate-watching party at an unspecified Downtown location. He saw the bicycles and the people hanging out and walking, as well as the Friday night bar/partygoers in various locations. And not realizing it before, he felt...safe. Though he knows how to handle himself in the City, and has walked through neighborhoods that most of you wouldn't even want to drive through - in a tank - he did feel a sense of comfort and an absence of danger. So for all you Downtowners (or potential Downtowners) wondering what the deal is, there you go from a non-Downtowner who's still down wit' Downtown.

The Militant knows this heat wave won't last, and will soon give way to the cool of Fall and the cold of Winter, so he will be out on the streets tonight. So who knows? You may or may not see him.

Anonymous: Um, no. transplants are domestic aliens who come from the East Coast, the Midwest and places where cow-tipping is the local pastime. They all come here thinking they'll be movie stars/millionaires and spend every waking hour bitching about how they can't find a decent slice of pizza, how Los Angeles is "Soooo spread out" and thinking that they're experts on the whole place based on watching two full seasons of Baywatch. And people who aren't black or white are somehow invisible to them.

Transplants are different than immigrants in that IMMIGRANTS DON'T WHINE.

Militant:You dare set foot in J-Town and didn't bring a basketball. Haven't you heard that B-Ball is at the very crux of the current effort to revive the cultural roots of this historic ethnic enclave? Taehan Migook, goddamn it!Deke Babamoto

In a way it is getting crowded here in Los Angeles. The roads often move at a crawl and so lashing out on transplants may be because we are traffic weary....

Or that some people are sassie or rude to us because they don't understand us.

Like for instance folks who are afraid of walking the streets at night...Many "natives" are unafraid of being out at night but here I am on a main street in Glendale with my front door open...

Do I hate some people? Hate is too strong of a word. I fear those tough looking guys with tatoos whether or not they are immigrants or natives. Some of the tats are angry signs that you should leave them alone....

Then again I have sympathy for those non-asians that have Chinese/polynesian tats...but surprisingly some did "earn" them...

Philpalm: Nah, to be fair, everyone contributes to the traffic, so the transies aren't solely to blame in that department. It's just that the Militant can't stand their incessant childish whining, as if they feel they're entitled to everything, and that they expect their Oscar/Emmy/Grammy to be handed to them as they step off the bus at the Hollywood Greyhound station. They hate Los Angeles yet rarely move back because they're too embarrassed to admit they made a stupid decision. Fools.

Dang Militant you're chillen everywhere! not that you care or anything, but I was in Chinatown on Friday as well on 2nd st between Central and San Pedro eating dinner then some hip hop show thing they had going on.Maybe we crossed paths lol ..you better start ducking lol jk

Manifesto

A 100% Los Angeles native, the Militant Angeleno lives in a compound in an unspecified neighborhood of central Los Angeles. His life consists largely of his various adventures around the city, which are documented in this blog. The Militant is also multi-modal and is not dependent on any one mode of transportation, although he is most known for traversing the City's streets via bicycle. The Militant can be described as part-activist, part-superhero, giving the voice to the voiceless and silencing those who just plain whine too much. Partly because of his selfless motives, he prefers to refer to himself in the third person, as the first-person is too self-centered. The Militant is anonymous and goes to great lengths to protect his identity and is aided and protected by an unspecified number of operatives, who are sworn to secrecy as to his identity. Most important, the Militant's ultimate objective is not to be the Militant Angeleno, but to empower and enlighten other Angelenos, so that they may be militants in their own right. Oh yeah, Go Dodgers!

Contacting The Militant Angeleno

Do you have a question for the Militant Angeleno (sorry, all questions regarding his identity will be ignored)? Would you like to send hate mail (or love mail, even)? Do you want to know how you can join the Angeleno Militia? Here's how!